When Jonathan “Jay” Nevius, Rory McQuillan, and Darien Gomez started their detailing business as teenagers in high school, they ran it out of their cars, driving around Union County after school and during the summers to people’s homes to clean cars. “A lot of it in the beginning was self taught,” says McQuillan, “but then we took classes and certifications.”
Since 2021, when two of the three founders graduated from college, Premier Detailing has had a brick-and-mortar location at 520 Martin Place in Scotch Plains that averages between 30 and 40 customers a month. Typically, they work with cars at the beginning or the end of their lifecycle with an owner. “Our typical customer is someone who's just bought a new or used car, a car that's new to them,” McQuillan explains. “A lot of times they'll take it to us straight from the dealership [Other] people come to us to get detailing done right before they're about to sell the car, either back to a dealership or [to a] 3rd party.” He notes that a paint correction and a ceramic coating or paint protection film preserve the value and longevity of the vehicle, while a detailing can also raise the sale value.
The ceramic coatings are popular, both with customers and with the staff. The clear liquid protection layer -- which McQuillan calls “a wax on steroids” -- is the only one on the market that has insurance insurance-backed warranty to cover claims like UV damage, bird waste, or chips from road debris.
McQuillian says that the focus is protection and preservation, but both he and Nevius say that customer service is key. “The biggest thing I've learned is that you have to invest in people first before they invest in you,” Nevius explained. “I think that [the most important thing is] being able to understand and empathize with people and find and solve their actual problem. The money comes, but I try to deliver a solution, not just a service with the most expensive product.”